"It is very disturbing and pretty freaky," said Fleming, who offered a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever is responsible.

"It is my sincere hope that a reward will assist law enforcement in this investigation. This illegal act has a cost for our community and expends valuable resources that should be spent elsewhere. It should be clear that those responsible will be sought out to pay for this cost," he said.

The area is adjacent to the infamous Dewey Loeffel toxic dump site that has been a topic of concern for decades for environmentalists and nearby residents. It did not seem likely to officials that the site poisoned the fowl.

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"They were all dumped there from someplace else," said Fred McCagg, the town highway superintendent. It's heartbreaking to see it."

Fleming said residents of the area are concerned because several keep ducks on their properties and worry the birds may have died of some contagious disease and were not properly disposed of.

"The DEC received a report on Monday of numerous dead birds dumped in vicinity of Mead Road," Georgeson said in a prepared statement. "DEC is investigating the matter. Some of the birds will be delivered to DEC's Wildlife Pathology lab in Delmar today for analysis."

The dumping was done in an area of the road where years ago the highway department dumped berms of dirt to make it more difficult for illegal dumpers to hoist junk over the embankment.

"It's also about 15 feet from a sign we put up warning of a $1,000 fine for illegal dumping," McCagg said.